Thursday night’s thriller between the Packers and Saints provided an emphatic statement of why people were so worried during the NFL lockout. It definitely would have sucked to miss that one and all the rest of ’em this season.

Unless, of course, you are that rare breed known as the Jacksonville Jaguar fan, in which case you may be wishing this thing was still being drawn out in a court somewhere.

The Jaguars have opened their season with a bang, releasing starting quarterback David Garrard the week of the opener.

While Garrard isn’t the bee’s knees, he is certainly a serviceable NFL QB. That is more than can be said of his replacement, Luke McCown, who has absolutely laughable career totals of 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 7 seasons.

The decision certainly ruffled the feathers of one-time Jag Hugh Douglas, who suggested that coach Jack Del Rio should be punched in the face. (By the way, how hilarious is it that Del Rio is one of the coaches LSU fans were hoping would replace Les Miles when he went into last season with his pants aflame after the 2009 Ole Miss debacle? As it turns out, Miles is Lt. Columbo — playing the fool while outsmarting us all — while Del Rio appears to be the actual Forrest Gump of this scenario).

Cutting Garrard saves the team $9 million this year, but if cutting costs was your No. 1 priority wouldn’t you have done this at the start of camp rather than right before the first game?

The move must be particularly galling to Jacksonville fans given the uncertainty surrounding Peyton Manning heading into the season, which made the AFC South as winnable as it has been in a decade.

But I’m wondering if ownership really cares about what those fans think in the first place.

We all know the NFL wants a team in Los Angeles. And we’ve all seen “Major League.” So yes, I am suggesting that Jaguars management is willfully attempting to create so much fan apathy that they can become the no-brainer choice to move to L.A. There’s a lot more scratch to be made in SoCal than in NW FLA.

If a more traditional franchise like the Vikings or Bills ended up making the move, there would be an outcry. If the Jaguars continue to alienate the few fans they’ve got, there will be none.

That’s the only way making Luke McCown your starting quarterback makes any sense in my mind.